Guitar bar or steel having a rotating contact face



Get. 18, 1949. F. w. PEASLEY 2,435,108

GUITAR BAR 0R STEEL I'IAVINQ ROTATING CONTACT FACE Filed July 17, 1947 INVENTOR e 562720722 h/fia'siey v myzamw ATTD RN EYB Patented Oct. 18, 1949 OFFICE GUITAR BAR R STEEL HAVING A ROTATING CONTACT FACE Fremont Peasley, Sunnyvale, Calif. Application July 17, 1947, Serial No. 761,669

2 Claims. (Cl. 84-319) This invention relates to a bar or steel' for Hawaiian and electric guitars, and the primary object of the invention is to provide a bar or steel having a rotating contact face which will freely rotate over the strings and eliminate the rasping sound and uneven tone that present when ordinary bars or steels are used in the conventional manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cylindrical bar or steel having a rotating contact face that can be used for contact with the strings of a stringed instrument or the bar can be slightly rotated in the users hand to present a fixed contact face with the strings.

There are many advantages that are inherent to a bar or steel of this type; among them are that the bar or steel can be used by professionals in accomplishing intricate positions on the strings to produce certain notes and vibrations that cannot be achieved with a conventional bar or steel. A bar or steel constructed in accordance with the invention provides a rotating as well as a. fixed contact face for the strings, a feature that is not present in conventional bars and steels.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spring suspension for the rotating contact face that will tension the contact face so that a true center is always available, thereby maintaining the contact face in the same position at all times, applying the same amount of pressure at all times, which action is not available in devices not using the spring suspension construction.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the invention consists of the novel details of construction, arrangement and combination of parts more fully hereinafter described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of an embodiment of the invention shown in the position in which it will be held in the musicians hand during the playing of an instrument;

Figure 2 is a rear end elevational view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view on th line 3-3 of Figure 1 and Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 4--4 of Figure 2.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the bar or steel which is constructed in accordance with the invention and which is adapted for use with the strings of a Hawaiian or electric guitar is designated by the numeral Ill.

The bar or steel l (I comprises a cylindrical body portion ll having a bullet shaped nose l2 and a flat end [3.

Extending longitudinally of the body for approximately the entire length thereof, is a concave recess 14 which is open through the wall of the body portion l I.

The forward end of the recess I4 is provided with a conical shaped seat I'5 while the opposite end is fiat as at It and provided with a semispherical seat I! centrally thereof.

Mounted for rotation within the recess I4 is the contact face or bar 18 which is also cylindrical in shape, and is of a length to be received within the seat l5 due to the slightly rounded forward end I9'thereof.

The bar I8 is provided with centrally located inwardly extending cylindrical sockets 20 and 20' respectively, in which are positioned the coil suspension springs 2| and vi I respectively.

The spring 2| engages and applies pressure to a roller bearing or ball 22 which is positioned in the seat l5, and the spring 2| engages and applies pressure to a roller bearing or ball 22' which is positioned in the seat [1. Thus the bar I8 is mounted for free rotation on the suspension springs 20 and 20'. This manner of suspending or mounting the bar provides even pressure or tension on the bar to maintain the bar in the same position at all times to provide even contact with the strings of an instrument. The surface of the bar is extremely smooth in finish, so that no obstructions are provided for contact with the strings to mar the tone of the instrument.

As seen from Figure 2, the end l3 for a portion thereof is cut away at 23 so that the end, at this portion, is substantially the same size as the end of the bar l8. At a point in alinement with the cut away portion of the end is an aperture 24 which is adapted to receive a sharp pointed instrument. With the instrument, not shown, inserted in the aperture 24, and pressure applied thereto, the springs 2| and 2| can be compressed so that the bar can be removed for replacement or the like, or new springs or balls may also be replaced in the assembly.

In use, the bar or steel I0 lies between the second and third fingers of the musicians hand. In this position, the third finger can rest on the strings of the instrument to mute any noise which comes from lifting the bar or steel between notes.

Should the musician desire a fixed contact face in lieu of the rotating contact face produced by the rotating bar I 8, the bar or steel It) can be slightly rotated in the musicians hand to present the body portion H to the strings. Such action can even be accomplished during the playing of the instrument.

The shape of the nose It is a popular shape with professional musicians, since it presents a surface which will not cause the bar or steel to catch on the strings during the playing of the instrument.

There has thus been provided a bar or steel which will reduce the friction between the bar and strings, will be quicker to manipulate, will produce less noise on the strings, eliminate any scraping sound between the bar and strings. The

spring suspension of the bar permits vibrations of the strings that cannot be produced with a bar having a fixed contact face, and'the bar enables beginners or students to produce professional sounding notes.

It is believed that the advantages and manner of use of the bar or steel will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is to be understood thatthrough the W211 thereof, ball engaging seats at the opposite ends of said recess, a smooth string contact face or bar positioned in said recess, cy-

lindrical-shaped recesses at opposite ends of said bar, balls in said ball engaging seats and spring suspension means in the recesses in said bar and adapted to engage said balls for rotatably mounting said'bar in said recess.

2. The invention as in claim 1, wherein said body portion has a bullet shaped nose, and a fiat rear end, and an aperture is provided in the center of said rear end to receive means for compressing 'said'spring suspension means, whereby said bar may be removed from said body portion for the replacement thereof.

FREMONT W. PEASLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 551,040 Morgan Dec. 10, 1895 1,342,718 Neft June 8, 1920 1,492,274 Sullivan Apr. 29, 1924 1,51 ,834 Meyer Feb. 22, 1927 2,435,512 RiChmOIId Feb. 3, 1948 

